Since the 1960s, Croatia Cleveland has participated in the U.S. Open Cup on more than a dozen occasions, reaching as far as the Semifinals in 1975. That run, under their then-name Croatian Rebels, ended at the hands of NY’s Inter-Giuliana in the Final Four.
In Sesar’s current squad, who’ll play Steel City of USL League Two in the Final Qualifying Round in nearby Mentor, Ohio, are Daniel Kalic and Dominik Bruketa. Their grandfather, Anton Bruketa (3rd from left in the top row above), was a member of that 1975 Semifinalist squad. Sesar’s coach in the 1990s, Ante Butic (2nd from left in the top row), was a member of that historic side too.
The influence of the club can be felt all over Northern Ohio. Evidence of that could be seen in their Third Qualifying Round game against Akron City FC earlier this month. “There were a lot of familiar faces in that [Akron] team,” Sesar chuckled, counting about six players from the other side of the field who had, at one time or another, donned the blue of Croatia Cleveland.
Regional Ohio Giants
The club’s first team, now on the cusp of a return to American soccer’s most historic tournament, is made up of a combination of players of all ages and experiences. Many are fresh off the college circuit, but there’s also a handful of old-timers whose wisdom and commitment help steady the ship.
Lovorko Duvnjak, born in Bosnia, lined up in the last Round of Qualifying at the age of 40. So did Mike Derezic, now 35, and one of the biggest names in Cleveland-Area soccer in the last two decades. The captain on that day in Akron was 24-year-old Daniel Kalik and 21-year-old Tanner Hodgson also did his share of the heavy lifting.
Sesar’s only loss in the Open Cup as a coach is that bittersweet 0-1 result with AFC Cleveland against FC Cincinnati back in 2017. And even that one, according to him, deserves an asterisk. “I’m four and one in Open Cup play,” he said, remembering back to the 3-1 road win over Open Cup powerhouses Des Moines Menace that same year (First Round). “But I still say it should be five and oh.”
